SWR boys set to open season under Kiser

ASHEBORO — Like any basketball coach who is entering his first season at a new school, Southwestern Randolph High School’s Matt Kiser admitted he wished he had another three weeks to prepare his team for the upcoming season.

At the same time, however, he said he’s excited to see what his team will be like when they take the floor Tuesday at Eastern Randolph High School for the season opener.

The Cougars are learning a new system under Kiser, who returned to his alma mater to coach in a program he once played in, and he said his team has already shown the ability to improve and grasp what he is teaching.

“After the first week, I felt we might not even be ready to think about playing,” Kiser said. “But the past two weeks have been excellent and we progressed as a team. We still have a lot to cover. Anytime you have a new system put into place, it’s going to take longer than Thanksgiving to get everything in, but we’re on the right path.”

Kiser, a 2005 graduate of SWR who went on to earn his degree at Appalachian State, has been teaching a more up-temp game to his players, hoping to take advantage of what he calls good team quickness.

“I think they’ve been used to running more of a half-court set offense and maybe a little slower paced game,” Kiser said. “We’re working on trying to bring the temp up and transition quicker from offense to defense and from defense to offense.”

Kiser will be counting on guards Ryan Sineath, Reece Daniel, Shane Ashe, Justin Lamb and Darius Martin in the backcourt. Sineath will handle the point guard duties and Daniel is slated to be the shooting guard. Sineath is still battling a hip injury sustained in football and may not be 100 percent at the start of the season.

“He’s a great athlete and a very smart player,” Kiser said. “With his speed, we are going to be counting on him on both ends of the court. He’s been practicing, but we’re going to limit him for awhile.”

Daniel saw some valuable minutes as a freshman and Kiser said he will be counted on more this season in the scoring department. Kiser said he likes his depth in the backcourt with Ashe, Lamb, Martin and Bryson Cranford.

Inside, senior Tyler Brown will see his role increase from last season.

“He’s a real physical tough kid,” Kiser said of Brown. “We’re looking for him to do the dirty work for us. Every team needs them.”

Brown’s sophomore brother Andrew will also be counted on to produce and Kiser said he likes what he sees n Jake Johnson, a physical player who can shoot the mid-range shot.

“Between the first scrimmage and the second scrimmage, we took a big step forward,” Kiser said. “We really progressed in some areas. We’re starting to understand when to run and when not to run. We want to run with a purpose.”

One other key for the Cougars will be learning a new mindset. SWR has tasted very little success on the basketball floor in recent campaigns and Kiser said this year’s team has an opportunity to change that.

“We’ve been stressing since I got here that it’s time to change,” Kiser said. “We talked about my expectations and we talked about their expectations and they have set the bar pretty high. We want to bring about change. This is the team that can get that ball rolling.”